amyhuangDesma9

In this week’s lecture, the exploration of space and its profound influence on art was a key topic of discussion. The "Power of Ten" video vividly illustrates the cosmic reality that, while our corner of the universe teems with celestial bodies and dynamic phenomena, most of the cosmos remains a silent void. This stark emptiness is a testament to the profound isolation that characterizes outer space. Art can be a powerful tool in science engagement efforts to help facilitate learning and public discourse around space and space exploration (Molaro). Today, advancements in nanotechnology play a crucial role in space exploration. The discovery of buckyballs—cage-like carbon structures formed in space—demonstrates how molecules and elements travel across the cosmos to Earth. It also inspires artists to create artworks that combine cultures of microscopic organisms and data from space probes and planetary landers (Gracie 7).  Picture 1: Star Trek Fleet Command Aesthetic design con...

In this week’s lecture, we talked about the edge-breaking technology - nanotechnology, its influence over society, and its wild applications. Picture 1: 9 Camels (Wigan) Nanotechnology, manipulating matter on an atomic scale, has fascinating implications for art. Richard Feynman, in his 1959 Caltech lecture, highlighted the potential at this level. He later on created a 25,000-page encyclopedia inscribed on a pinhead. The 1980s marked the rise of nanotechnology. Eric Drexler proposed precise atomic assembly, and the 1985 discovery of buckminsterfullerene (C60) revealed carbon's third allotrope. This led to nanotubes and the Nobel Prize-winning work on graphene. Picture 2: Buckminsterfullerene (Kon) Nanotechnology's artistic lineage traces back centuries. The Lycurgus Cup (circa 400 AD) changes color due to nanosized gold particles. Renaissance pottery from Deruta used nanoparticle glazes, and stained glass windows showcased vibrant hues through similar techniques. Today, nanote...

This week the professor talked about the overlap of bio-tech and art. At first, I thought the topic might be similar to what we discussed in the last lecture (med-tech + art). In fact, biotechnology and art had a more profound application, not just limited to the medical field. The combination of biotechnology and art requires scientists to work together with artists and the collaboration alone brings benefits. For example, New-media art, a genre of interdisciplinary practices, employs various techniques and scientific methodologies and allows scientists to recontextualize their experiments within the context of the humanities and social sciences to promote a better public understanding of the sciences (Ahmedien). Enhanced understanding sheds light on broader topics like individual’s natural well-being, conservation of environmental heritage, and human comradeship and welfare (DaSilva).   Since the early 1990s, one of the trends in contemporary art has been the intertwining of...